Out Reach Activities
Educational Aids to Children of the Visually Impaired
Mr. Ragu lost his eye sight when he was studying B.Com. He was fortunate to meet and marry a lady with eye sight and the couple is blessed with two daughters with perfect sight. Extreme poverty pushed him to admit both the daughters in an orphanage, even though he wanted to give them quality education. The experience at the orphanage was so bad he wanted to take them out of the orphanage and wanted to admit them in English medium private school as Government schools near his place do not have English medium. He preferred English medium as he thought that it will fetch them good jobs without much difficulty. But he was not in a position to afford to pay the fees. He came to know about the scheme of providing support for education of children of visually impaired parents, being offered by Nethrodaya. Nethrodaya has been paying the school fees of both his daughters for the past 3 years. His daughter Rahul Devi, studying in 11th standard has an ambition to become an Eye surgeon which is also the dream of the family.
Another such inspiring story comes from Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, where Mr. Rajesh and Mrs. Manimegalai, both visually impaired, struggled to enroll their sighted child in a nearby school due to financial constraints. Nethrodaya stepped in to meet this pressing need by covering the child’s school fees in full. Thanks to this support, the child is now happily enrolled in LKG, beginning a journey toward a brighter future.
Nethrodaya has been supporting not only the education of the visually impaired but also supporting the education of the children of the visually impaired parents for the past 21 years.
Free Medical Aid Services 24/7
Mrs. Selvi, who hails from Madurai, lost her eyesight when she was 3 year old due to small pox. In spite of her visual impairment, she became a graduate due to her determination. She married a visually impaired person and they are blessed with 2 daughters. Her husband left her and she was facing many hardships in bringing up the daughters. She developed hernia in her stomach in 2009 and the disease was progressing. As she was unable to meet the costly expenses for the operation, she was bearing the excruciating pain till 2013. She came to know of the free medical aid service of Nethrodaya. Nethrodaya arranged for her medical examination and surgery in a leading multispecialty hospital. After surgery now she is leading a healthy life at her village. Like Selvi, many visually impaired persons who are suffering from various medical ailments have availed free medical services from Nethrodaya.
For the past 21 years, on an average every year Nethrodaya is able to provide assistance for around hundreds of surgeries and provide quality medical facility for their physical ailments.
As part of the free medical services Nethrodaya also organizes free medical camps and provides monthly medicines in regular basis.
Individual Cattle Rearing Unit Scheme for Visually Impaired Rural Families (ICRU)
Uneducated visually impaired adults in the rural areas are considered as a liability to their families as they are unable to find jobs to earn and contribute to their families. As a result, they have to face disrespect, isolation and loss of self-esteem. In order to address this issue, Nethrodaya formulated and has been implementing an unique scheme for providing a hybrid milk cow with a female calf to the visually impaired persons in the rural areas, completely free of cost which will provide a steady and decent income to the family. Many unemployed and illiterate visually impaired persons from interior villages have benefitted from this value addition scheme which has enabled them to gain respect, acceptance and social recognition. For the past 20 years, this scheme has benefitted all remote villages of Tamil Nadu. Around 10 families are benefitted every year enabling them to achieve financial independence.
45 year old Moorthy from Kandamanallur village, near Ginjee, a born blind was living life of despair and isolation as he was not able to earn and contribute to the family as he was not educated. He lost his parents at very early and is living with his brother. Nethrodaya team met Moorthy at his village and provided him with hybrid cow and female calf. With the income generated from the cow unit, Moorthy is now able to support himself is also supporting his brother and has become a respected man in the village. Nethrodaya has been supporting many such visually impaired persons like Mr. Moorthy to live a dignified life.
Recently, Nethrodaya also donated a cow and a female calf to Chandru, a visually impaired person from a remote village in Nagai District, Tamil Nadu. This life-changing support has provided a sustainable livelihood, enabling him to support his wife and educate his 13 year old son and 8 year old daughter and lead a dignified life.
Self-Employment Scheme for Poor Visually Impaired Families
Many visually impaired persons are engaged in selling small marketable products in the suburban train in Chennai by way of self-employment. Many visually impaired persons, desirous of staring this business, were unable to meet the seed capital for commencing this business. If these persons are not successful in getting the initial capital, they may be pushed to begging as a last resort. Nethrodaya has a regular program of identifying visually impaired persons in need of seed capital for this business and providing them with a business kit containing marketable products worth Rs 5000 as seed capital, completely free of cost. This regular service has helped many visually impaired persons to start the business immediately without resorting to begging. For the past 21 years Nethrodaya is able to provide seed capital for hundreds visually impaired persons for their self-employment.
One such beneficiary, Aruna, a visually impaired woman from Tenkasi District, struggled to support her elderly mother and 8-year-old son due to financial hardships. With the support of Nethrodaya under this scheme, her family’s situation has been transformed, enabling them to achieve a sustainable source of income and a better quality of life.
Free Monthly Grocery Scheme
Poverty and hunger remain major challenges for many visually impaired families across Tamil Nadu. To address this pressing need, Nethrodaya launched the Free Monthly Grocery Scheme, providing essential groceries free of cost to underprivileged visually impaired families. For over three years, hundreds of families have benefited from this initiative, which ensures regular meals, reduces financial hardship, and helps restore dignity and stability to their lives.
One such beneficiary is Nagaraj, a poor visually impaired person from Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, who lost his wife and is raising three children alone. Battling poverty, he struggled to provide even three meals a day, and his children were on the brink of starvation. Nethrodaya's timely intervention through monthly grocery support has ensured that his children never go hungry again.
As part of the free medical services Nethrodaya also organizes free medical camps and provides monthly medicines in regular basis.
Death with Dignity
The Death with Dignity scheme was initiated by Nethrodaya 7 years ago to ensure that visually impaired individuals receive a respectful and dignified final farewell.
Recognizing that many families faced financial difficulties or lacked support to perform last rites, this initiative provided assistance for cremation or burial ceremonies, allowing families to honor their visually impaired loved ones with the respect they deserve.
Nethrodaya performed the final rites for Manjula, a poor visually impaired woman from Villipuram, with the dignity and respect she deserved. We continue to support her family, providing monthly groceries to ensure three meals a day for Manjula's two daughters and her visually impaired husband.
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Medicine for the Blind
This unique initiative launched in 2024, “Medicine for the Blind,” supports economically disadvantaged visually impaired individuals who cannot afford medication for chronic health conditions. Through this scheme, essential medicines are provided free of cost and delivered directly to beneficiaries’ homes across Tamil Nadu, ensuring consistent and timely access to healthcare. This initiative reflects Nethrodaya’s commitment to promoting inclusive healthcare and dignity for persons with visual disabilities.